


Circadyn

by AntiCholia



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, M/M, idfk how to do this genre and character thing ok im just wingin g it, king chanyeol can't sleep
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 19:36:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20376982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AntiCholia/pseuds/AntiCholia
Summary: The King of Circadynia has passed away. Crown prince Chanyeol has been crowned as his successor. Losing his father, and trying to deal with being the ruler of a kingdom has proven to be stressful. He can't sleep.





	Circadyn

_ The bells sound all around the kingdom _ _ of _ _ Circadynia _ _ . The sound could be confused for joy, but it bestows upon _ _ it _ _ great tragedy. As the people of _ _ Circadynia _ _ look up at the golden bells dangling in their vast towers, a truth dawns upon them. _

_ The __king__ has __passed__ on __to_ _the __Heavens__. _   


* * *

Whispers fill the corridor of the palace. Servants, to viceroys, to knights. All of them speak about the new king. Crown prince Chanyeol has been inaugurated as the new ruling king and everyone in the palace has seen the change it has caused in his royal highness. Ridden by sadness, a weeping mother and sister he had to support and taking over the throne all at once, the burden of a country on his shoulders left the prince with no room to express his mourning. It showed. 

It showed in a painfully obvious manner. 

Whereas there had been a brightness in the crown prince’s eyes that had been famous among the people of the kingdom, now there had been nothing but dark circles beneath his orbs, burdened with long nights deprived of sleep. Who could blame him? His position was not one to be envied. The burden of an entire country could not wait, time didn’t wait for anyone. Not even for a beloved ruler who had passed away. Matters of the land could not wait. Even during the official mourning period of forty days, Chanyeol had been shoved into inauguration ceremony preparations and schooling of matters of the land. None of it could wait. Not his weeping mother, not his grieving sister, not the people of the land. Life moved on, and it went far too quickly for the former crown prince. 

“According to the official chambermaid, he has not slept in a week now.” 

“A full _week!?_ Nonsense, no man could survive such a long time.” 

“Apparently viceroy Yixing had noted a servant to fetch his highness a bowl of water to wash his face in after he had fainted at the council’s gathering.” 

“Poor lad. He is so young. Such burden to take upon himself.” 

“I certainly do not envy him.” 

“Rumour is that the apothecary has tried everything, yet it has not worked. Nothing can put the king to slumber. I’m not sure how long it will take before the king follows his father to the afterlife.” 

“_SHUSH! _Don’t let anyone hear you say that again, they’ll have your head for disrespecting his highness like that.” 

* * *

“My lord, apothecary Han has advised you to go for a hunting trip.” 

The king runs his fingers through his blonde locks and allows his eyes to rest as he keeps them closed. There’s a persistent throbbing in his head and his mood is nothing short of foul. He wants all of it to stop. The last time he had fainted from a lack of sleep had been a day now. Three hours of unconsciousness he had woken up from more tired than before. His body was slowly giving in. He got weaker and sicker as time passed on. If his healers did not come up with a solution soon, he feared he would eventually succumb to either insanity or death. Both seemed rather liberating from the torture of staying awake. He wanted rest. More than anything, he wanted to rest his eyes. It would not come to him. 

“What is the purpose of going on a hunting trip, Sehun?” 

“Apothecary Han has explained to me that a hunting trip should relieve some of the physical frustration and bring some peace to your mind, my lord. As you relax on a hunting trip, apothecary Han has vowed to devote his time to find a more permanent solution.” 

A more permanent solution. Death comes to the fresh king’s mind. He shakes it off when his mind conjures the image of his mother and sister grieving over his lifeless, exhausted corpse. Not again. They cannot suffer like that again. 

“Who will rule in my stead, Sehun? Has Han contemplated that yet? I cannot leave for the sake of it. There is no stability yet in my reign. I must be there for the people.” 

Sehun fell quiet as he contemplated for a second. Surely there was an answer to that. Not one that was to be sought with the apothecary though. No, the apothecary was a healer. Politics fell outside of his responsibilities. “My lord, it is possible to gather your most trusted viceroys to oversee national affairs for a couple of days. The kingdom shall not collapse in mere days. Trust your people.” 

_ Trust your people. _

It’s difficult to feel like you’re not entirely alone in times of crisis. It’s the first time the newly crowned king remembers that he isn’t entirely alone. That’s right. He has an entire country he has to lead, indeed, but it does not change the fact that those people will also end up serving him, following his word. They can’t rebel and riot every time he leaves the castle. There’s a reason for that. He is not doing this entirely alone. His people do not despise their royalty. His viceroys and councilmen do not hate him. 

His chamber is quiet as he thinks. He’s aware that Sehun is not looking at him. More than anyone else, Sehun has always been able to understand Chanyeol in his need to be left alone in times of severe stress. At this point, even the word severe felt like somewhat of a euphemism. In his thought, he stares ahead of himself and feels his gaze drift into nothingness. He can spend time out of focus for a bit. Can he? Can he leave everything behind for a bit and just go hunting? It sounds like relief. Relief he so desperately needs. And it sounds like it could actually work. If he spent his time exerting himself physically maybe it could follow up and he could just pass out on a stack of whatever material is used as a makeshift bed during hunting trips. 

Without raising his head, his blonde locks tight in stressed fists, he commands. “Prepare my horse, Sehun.” 

* * *

Lu Han looks out of the window as bells ring in the kingdom and the grand gates are opened to see the king leave with his servants and a pair of knights to ensure his safety. He sucks in his breath and rubs over his arm in silence. In his tower, he has plenty to look out from and to observe. A space to think, a gift granted by the late king. His own little spot to get away and help his brain to move. The town kingdom is well awake, and he hears and sees the people go about their business as soon as the king has left and the gates have closed behind him. He has only a few days to think of a plan to make sure that upon his return, the king can sleep once again. 

But _how? _

At least the king had followed up on his advice to go on a hunting trip. With slow paces, he returns to his table. Upon it lies his tome. He takes his quill and gazes at what he had written down so far. 

_ Stellar Mint ㅡ No affect. The King has mentioned his head feels clear, and his body feels relaxed, but his eyes refuse to close. The following morning, he seemed less aggravated. I will advise him to continue taking _ _ stellar _ _ mint. At least it helps ease him. _

_ Zelevender _ _ Oil ㅡ No affect. The King has complained about the smell and it has not given him the relief of slumber. Do not repeat. The relaxing effects it is known for have not helped at all. _

_ Massages ㅡ His Highness has received massages from both men and women. Thinking perhaps women would be too arousing, I commanded men to give him a relaxing massage. No affect. The King had nothing to say about it, however the servants were quick to notice that the King’s entire body appears to be extremely tense. _

_ Intercourse ㅡ Bringing it up was rather uncomfortable, but I had managed to do so. Upon preparing a lady of the evening, bathed in the castle and clad in the finest silks, I sent her to his chambers. She was found crying outside of his room half an hour later. The King berated a chambermaid and his mood seems to have soured considerably. Do not repeat. _

His eyes scan down the list. Lullabies, sparring battles, stretching exercises, alcohol, meditation, change in diet, cold baths, warm baths, music, incense, literature, and so on and so forth. The list is long, and all of them are crossed out. Except the last option. A wizard. Hard to reach, harder to convince to lend a helping hand. As far as he is aware, viceroy Yixing has sent out squires to seek one. Hopefully, it will help soon. 

Who could help, if not a man of magic? 

_ Who__? _

“HAN**_! _ ** ” 

Startled out of his daze, he lifts his gaze from his tome and stares at the face of Baekhyun. “What do you want?” He scoffs, looking back at his scripture to scribble down his advice of a hunting trip. Hopefully it will help, but he does not have much faith. “You are aware I am busy, so what do you want?” 

“Seems like it isn’t just the king that’s cranky, huh? It’s spreading from him to the rest of the castle.” 

“Lucky you aren’t actually part of the castle, are you? Stable master.” 

Baekhyun scoffs and rolls his eyes. “You should envy us stable men. All of us are sleeping just fine, mind you. Wonderfully, really. Some more than others... Perhaps a bit too much.” 

Han squints his eyes and rolls them afterwards. His hands move to put his quill away and close his tome after the ink has considerably dried. “What are you here for?” He asks, watching his guest for a moment. “Because if it isn’t urgent, I implore you to get lost. I have a lot of work to do.” 

“Hey! I wouldn’t walk up all those stairs of your tower just for nothing! I hate it here. It’s so... high up. Unnecessarily so, if you ask me. Anyway, I came here to tell you that Junmyeon is coming back. He has heard of the king’s predicament and he says he might have an answer.” 

“How do you knoㅡ” 

“We communicate. Send each other ravens now and then. Anyway, you’re welcome. If I were you, I’d send someone to dust his home off early. It’s been a while since he’s been home after all. Alchemists are always missed, they sayㅡ” 

“ㅡThey don’tㅡ” 

“Always so far on their travels for souls and stuff. I don’t know. They’re like wizards but less magical, you know?” 

“Are you done?” 

“You can’t just chase me out, at least let me rest before you send me down those flights of stairs again! Why are you always so high up?” 

Despite the headache the apothecary sports, he can’t help but smile at that. It has been a while since he has had the time to quarrel around with Baekhyun. When this is all over with, he should relax again. “All right. You may relax. But be quiet.” 

“Wait, I have one thing to say.” 

“You always have one thing to say.” 

“Hay is really comfortable to sleep on.” 

Han opens his mouth and stares at Baekhyun. The stable master gives him a lopsided smile and arches up a suggestive brow. Sighing, the apothecary opens his tome and grabs his quill. 

_ Sleeping on hay ㅡ Suggested by Baekhyun. _

It’s better than nothing. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I'm back. [Tweeter.](https://twitter.com/anticholia)


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